Passion of the Christ

Passion of the Christ

This Easter, my family and I went to an Anglican church in Dayton. There, we were greeted with a liturgy that lasted over 90 minutes and a preacher that was yelling throughout his 15 minute sermon. To make up for this failed Easter service, I decided to watch The Passion of the Christ. Instead of finding a better telling of Easter, I was met with a similar, lengthy, drawn-out film that did not interest. You'd think it would difficult to be bored by a man being slowly executed but the hour mark, I had had enough. One aspect of this film I found incredibly annoying was Gibson's constant use of slow motion. While this was effectively during the garden scene and Jesus's whipping, it had to have been used at least 50 times. During the whipping scene, the slow motion along with some close-up and medium shots allow viewers to feel very connected to Jesus. However, this really is the only the scene that this works effectively in because Gibson just repeats his tricks. This was a cheap ploy to affect viewers on Gibson's part and lost all subtlety after the whipping. In addition, while trying to be true to the real thing, the gore and violence of this film was over-the-top. In particular, Jesus's dripping blood from his chest when they flip his cross around and the blood shower from Jesus's stab are excessive and a bit indulgent. This violence detracts from any significance or meaning that can be garnered from this film. Another small issue that I had was with the rain/teardrop from Heaven when Jesus dies. If Gibson is trying to remain true to the actual event, I doubt that God in Heaven is crying a singular tear, a tear that causing an earthquake throughout the city. One aspect of the film that I did enjoy was the structure. While I felt a little out of place at the beginning of the film, the flashbacks allowed for an interesting viewing. In addition, the makeup and set design were stellar, allowing viewers to feel a part of the setting. Finally, some of the key themes of Jesus's life come through excellently in this film: his belief in forgiveness and that he is 100% God while also being 100% man. I think my main issue with this film is my problem with a lot preachers and Christian speakers. Too often, we focus on the terrible death of Jesus and the problems and fall of man. The film only offers a glimmer of Jesus leaving the tomb and the hope of his resurrection. While there is time to focus on his death on the cross, this film spends an exorbitant amount of time on this aspect of Jesus, pulling the focus away from the hope of the empty tomb.
3/10